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keeps taking the spotlight away omh obama and conferce, thative i holding its annual mng this i'm craig melvin, you are watching msnbc, the place for week. and both president obama and tt romney will address the politics. 44 days until election day, and gathering tuesday. jennifer, this is going to right now millions of dollars present an opportunity for the and hundreds of political candidates to perhaps talk about activists are streaming into some issues that they might not get to discuss on the campaign these crucial battleground trail. who has the advantage here? states. >> well, i think that it depends we start with one of the most critical, ohio. how they use that time. the latest poll from the buckeye state tops the political they can use that to talk about their own foreign policy or use it to critique the other guy's headlines this sunday where president obama is up five foreign policy, and it is a good points over mitt romney, and to setting for both of them. in particular, i think that the give you an idea of how crucial the buckeye state is, check out the campaign schedule for just president with the evolving story on libya has some real this wednesday. there it is right there. the president hitting up bowling foreign policy problems and he green and kent. may want to address and defend mitt romney stumping in toledo and westerville and cleveland. his own middle eastern policies and may want to use that time. the romney campaign, once again, trying to reset after a very >> ann, if you were addressing difficult week. governor romney, what would you tell him to use that time for? but the head of the rnc insists >> he needs to use that time to that things are fine. >> i think that we had a good tell the american public where he stands on the issues.

week last week. so far he has been vague. and on afghanistan we know he i think that in retrospect in that we were able to frame up the debate. agrees with the president's time >> it is a talk point coming from the team romney and the line for withdrawal of 2014 and chair of the california finance he says he would not have committee who h to-- told donor addressed it publicly, but beyond that we don't know too much of the foreign policy. they are realizing more and more the same thing. >> i know at this moment you are feeling worried and frustrate and angry as you watch president that whether it is foreign policy or the economy, voters want to know more. obama and the mainstream media and pundits attack mitt with distortions and inaccuracies, so >> one of the claims of mitt romney when he talked about i want to share some thoughts explaining why he would not give more information with regard to with you tonight and provide you the taxes that if you give folks more, that gives them more to with some comfort. tear apart, but a sprinkle here polls are not elections. or there they don't have a lot the voters have not spoken. to sift through, and what do you make of that argument? >> and some democrats are trying >> i mean, you can't do that. to make more hay about mitt romney has released the 2011 tax you are running to president. people are not going the simply returns and he paid 14%, but be electing you because they only because he did not take all like the way you look or the way you criticize the other guy, and of the deductions. they want to elect people, at >> at the end of the week we saw him manipulating his own tax least i hope voters do, but elect someone based on what they returns to plump up his portions will do for the country, and of taxes to 14%. >> you are talking about not taking the charitable mitt romney is absolutely right, people will attack him, but that is absolutely right, but it not deductions? be enan excuse not to be up

>> right. two months ago on your own air front with the american public. said that if he did not take the >> and erin mcpike, the president is going to be deductions, he is not qualified skipping leaders oun within one to be president, and he is not, because that is what he did. with the u.n., and that is going to ul fa on hillary clinton who >> the romney campaign is tuning is enjoying a lot of press lately. her husband asked today on cbs it up by going with a bus stop in ohio and a rally in colorado, and now pete alexander is in "face the nation" what her denver where he will be speaking tonight. pete, you are joining us by telephone, and what can you tell future will be. us about the campaign game plan? this is his response. >> she is extraordinary person and i have never met anybody >> well, the campaign will be else who is a better public arriving in a short time from servant, but i have no idea what here where they have two events she will decide to do. in colorado over the next few >> really bi, bill? days. this is one of the eight crucial battlegrounds. as you know, there is a lot of no earthly idea. you buy that? criticism that romney spent a >> what i would say is this, a year ago bill clinton said absolutely no. l and hillary clinton has said absolutely not. lot of of time fund-raising, but not as much time speaking to the voters. there has been a small change of h he is going to try to pick up the pace of the campaign going what the clintons say about a potential run in 2016 and he forward and accelerating with also said that she will be two stoms in colorado over the next few days, and between he writing a book after she leaves the obama administration, and

and paul ryan, they will hit six writing a book generally means that you are setting yourself up cities across the battleground of ohio and in addition to the for another presidential run. stop that you have been discussing as well in virginia. >> how eeold will she be in 201? they recognized that it was a >> 69 i believe. >> 69. bad couple of weeks, but they wow. all right. what do you think, jennifer? do you think that hillary are defilly optimistic and fair clinton at the top of the ticket to say, craig, the campaign advisers recognize they have to in 2016? effectively deliver their economic message, and the core >> absolutely. message right now and they can't she has one thing going for her and potentially one big problem. what she has going for her is waste any more time. >> defiantly optimistic. that there are no other stars in and while i have you here ten the democratic party. days before the first debate, if you looked at the convention, are you hearing how the debate prep is going? they don't have a chris christie yes, mitt romney was in los or marco rubio or a lot of the young charismatic people and angeles yesterday raising close to $6 million by some accounts probably the biggest competition is governor cuomo from new york, in beverly hills when his wife, ann, was there and you know but not a lot of competition and about the smoke that forced her i think that in a race against to have an emergency landing joe biden she would flatten him. and the problem that she has here in denver, and he described however is a growing foreign it as her choking and rubbing policy problem, and she is secretary of state. the administration for a week or her eyes at one moment, but that so has been telling us that the is an aside, while in l.a. he attacks on the embassy were all was joined by rob portman who about this movie, and now they has been playing the role of the have had to change the tune as the facts have come out, and the president's middle east policy

is coming under a lot of foe, scrutiny, so either in the book foe barack obama, and they are or in the remaining weeks of the presidency, the first term, she said she is leaving either way, trying to inflate the expectations for the opponent and trying to lower their own expectations, but say all sorts of nice things which they don't she is going to have to want to do very often unless there is a put her spin on things so that strategic effort going on and if there is a problem, she sfrats what she tried to do with saying, well, mitt romney has what the president's policies were. >> i want to remention president had dozenbes of debates in the obama as we said he is going to prix mares and he should be be skipping the meetings at the excellent and the romney people u.n., but he will have to have saying of obama, he the best orator of our time, and we will time to make an appearance on "the view" tuesday. and senior campaign adviser bob find out in ten days here in the mile high state. gibbs defended the president's decision on fox news sunday. >> and well, the secret service listen. >> the president has block ed ot is sweeping the place. thank you, pete, for your work. >> sure. >> right now, we will get some insight into the romney campaign from a republican strategist who time to appear on the "the view" is supporting the governor's on tuesday, and so he has time white house bid, juliana glover who served on the senior staffs for whoppi goldberg not world of vice president cheney and then john ashcroft as well. leaders? joining me is juliana, and good >> no. look. chris, the president will be actively involved in ton -- >> he is not meeting with any afternoon to you. leaders, but giving a speech. >> thank you for having me. >> first of all, i want to play >> and chris wallace seemed to have a little disdain for whoopi the piece of sound from david

brooks on "meet the press" and this is what she had to say about the romney campaign or goldberg there. does this explanation hold mitt romney specifically. >> mitt romney does not have the passion for the stuff he is talking about. he is a problem solver and water? >> well, president obama has been going around doing a lot of nonideological person running an of the sbr views with the "the view" with the "the pimp with a limp" and a lot of people have extremely ideological age and been questioning if this is the faking it. best use of the president's so go with what he has been for time, but he is splitting the the last decades of his life, be ddaddaj?e.épdauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuua a powerpoint guy. >> juliana, what is the take on that? is he faking it? should he try the power point presentations? >> well, as you know, he is really good with whiteboards. at this point in time, he does not have a choice but to go ahead and argue the arguments as well as he can, if that is what it takes to revert to the sort of bain consultant mode and nauk hard numbers and concede it is not his strength to really wing it or act in ways that are sort of warm and fuzzy. he is, as we know, a core competency guy. he is someone who is exceptionally good at fixing

problems, but he is not real good at kissing the babies. that is just not who he is. again, at this point in time, we have a couple more weeks to go, and we hear lots of talk right now about how important those defwat d debates are going to be and been in 20 debates and won 16 of them, and the obama campaign is working very hard to really raise that bar for him. the bar is raised. he is going to deliver. he is going to have to deliver, and he's also going to have to start talking hard numbers and what the american people are facing in terms of the challenges and 8% unemployment, et cetera. >> you mentioned president obama, conservative analyst and writer bill kristol gave some credit to president obama today and i want to give your take on this and talk about it on the other side. take a listen. >> this election is just about the last four years, that is a muddy verdict, because bush was president in the ooh financial meltdown and they have urned the it around very well, and the clinton speech at the convention turned it around in a way, and how horrible it was four years

ago. >> and is bill kristol right, in that he has spent too much time trying to make it merely a referendum on the president? >> that is not the problem. the problem has been that we've not really had a serial number of days where we have been able to talk about the same numbers test. and situations that the american people are facing. $4 a gallon gasoline, and $5 a gallon diesel fuel, and houses underwater all over the country, and those are issues where the american public is starting to pay attention, governor romney has to make sure that is laid directly at the feet of president obama, and also make clear that he has the capability and own the fact that he is someone who can fix this problem certainly better than president obama has done so far in the last four years. >> juliana, that is the argument that the campaign has been

making. they have spent months talking about the economy and now poll after poll shows that the message the economic message of the romney campaign is no longer resonating especially in places like florida. why is that? >> well, i would disagree. i think that the campaign through oftentimes which is unforced errors, and mistakes that have been made by the campaign, has not had a real opportunity to go out and just have him give the same speech over and over in different media markets across the battleground states and have is the speeches carried on the local news every night that speak to the challenges of the american people right now and their daily lives. and right now it is about 47% and who said what when about benghazi being attacked and not about the pocketbook issues that people over their breakfast tables every morning talk about how they have to meet the challenge challenges. >> well, the argument could be made after the attack in benghazi, perhaps governor romney could have used that as a

opportunity to make a swoo sweeping declaration of his foreign policy. >> hindsight is 20/20. >> that was two weeks ago. >> well, look, we can look back and make judgments on that and back now with a sneak peek also make judgments on how at some key events this week. president obama handled that. our brain trust are with us, in the middle of what should have been a fog of intelligence erin mcpike and amanda and anna. information coming in, they come out to make unequivocal i want to start with you since you are sitting right here. ohio critical to both campaign, statements of how an attack on 9/111 had nothing to do with al qae and the buckeye brawl perhaps, qaeda, and put it this way, it is something that if they and foreign policy though could weren't simple incompetence, it be an issue. >> yes, look, today the obama is simple disingenuously. campaign announced that president obama on wednesday morning will be traveling to ohio for events at kent and >> and you are not going to bowling green which is the northern part of ohio with a lot of votes. acknowledge that the romney very heavy on the democratic campaign may have fumbled it a little bit as well. >> look, i think that we now know that both sides would have liked to have handle it vote, but that is the same day differently, but what is that it has been announced for several days now that mitt important to note there is that, romney will make a tour through ohio for three events in yes, governor romney has made columbus and cleveland and mistakes and president obama has toledo. made mistake and there will be so, look, probably the reason that the obama campaign is doing more made. >> we will leave it right there, this is to washout some of the and thank you much. it is a sunday afternoon and there are lots of other places

where you could be. >> thank you for having me. big local press that mitt romney was going to get because the obama campaign has had a big >> it is the next big thing that lead in ohio, and i shouldn't say big lead, but a long could make or break the sustained lead over mitt romney campaign. we will break down the debate for a while. >> got you. and jennifer, you believe that strategies. and the terminator coming clean about being a cheater. the obama administration's honesty over the libya crisis and the tone of the romney we will have the details of his campaign and both of those 624-page new memoir that things will be the big topics promises the real story. ed for small jobs. yeah, and i took on all the bigger, tougher ones. later in the week? but now that mr. clean's got >> i do. i think that you saw today on this new select-a-size magic eraser, some of other sunday talk shows i mean, he can take on any size job. on networks that shall not be look how easily he gets things cleaned. named that some of the obama it's enough to make you cry. officials had a hard time with you, specifically. not me. i'm just happy we don't go near rex's mobile home as often. that, and i believe that is going to continue to be the case because it's hard to clean as more and more facts come out or because you're scared of an itty-bitty doggy? and as the mainstream media gets into what actually happened when [ dog barks ] aah! oh! the administration was telling [ clears throat ] yeah, that was a sneeze. us something else. i think that on the romney side i think i sprayed myself. of the equation, i would look for one interesting development. [ male announcer ] new mr. clean for the first time today we saw select-a-size magic eraser. lets you pick the right size for every job. an ad are the the romney folks utilizing bob woodward's book. i would look for more of that. i think that there is a gold mine of things in there that they are trying to make the argument that this president does not roll up the sleeves and does not produce results. there is a lot of valuable data

in there and i am going to be curious to see if they continue the use woodedward's book this week. >> thank you. and 30 seconds, and i know you are looking at whether romney can reset the campaign? >> we keep hearing that he is going to, and the question is can mitt romney finally have a good week after libya, the 47%, and now he is going to be doing the bus tour in ohio. i mean, can mitt romney actually get over everything that's been going on and have a week without bad news? he releesased the 2011 tax retus select-a-size magic eraser. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze last week, and got some of that cake donettes rolling hot dogs sort of uncomfortable news out bag of ice of the way, and this week, let's anti-freeze see if he is able to keep sailing ahead or something else wash and dry comes up again. >> all right. diesel self-serve thank you so much, the brain fix a flat jumper cables trust, erin, and jennifer and 5% cashback amanda, we do appreciate your time this sunday afternoon, signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. ladies. [ sneezes ] >> thank you. >> thank you. and that does it for me. i'm craig melvin and this is of [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... course, msnbc. ♪ and up next the education nation [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler.

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year's debates could have a advair is clinically proven to help major impact on the outcome of significantly improve the presidential election and lung function. how the candidates and the running mates are forever unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory remembered. mitt romney spent this morning prepping for the first debate and a long-acting bronchodilator which is just ten days away now. working together to help improve your lung function all day. he and president obama will spar over domestic issues including advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers the economy, health care and the for sudden symptoms role of government. and should not be used more than twice a day. lit happen in denver, colorado, people with copd taking advair on october 3rd. joining me now is a professor of may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis history and public affairs at and some eye problems. princeton university, and the tell your doctor if you have a heart condition author of "reviving america, the or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. revival of political history." get your first full prescription free what do you believe the debates and save on refills at advaircopd.com. will be so important? >> well, unless the polls change given romney's performance, it is still a tight race. droid does. those are moments like in 1960 when the debates can move the

electorate just enough. >> and let's talk about this and talk about it on the other side. >> $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business, but i will -- >> okay. there's the infamous bet with governor perry. can mitt romney be trusted to speak off of the cuff? >> i think that overall, he did very well in the republican primary debates, and that is one example of a mistake, but most of the time he was relatively discipline and pretty tough with his opponents like newt gingrich but those kinds of slip-up s s the three-debate format can be extremely costly as we have seen in the past. so he can't make anymore $10,000 or million dollar bets because the democrats will use that to tag him as a creature of bain capital and a creature of wealth. >> take a listen to this clip. this is mitt romney debating late ted kennedy in the 1984 senate race. >> mr. romney, it is not a question of showing me your paper, but it is a question of showing all of the people in

here that are watching this program the paper. they ought to have an opportunity to know. >> yeah, and i think it is a wonderful idea to take it through piece by piece and -- >> that is what you have to do with the legislation. that is exactly what you have to do with legislation. >> senator kennedy appeared to have governor romney on his heels there. how does mitt romney historically handle pressure on the debate floor? >> well, in 1994, he didn't handle it well. ted kennedy eviscerated him and made the two arguments that continue to resonate today. one, that mitt romney is a product of bain capital and the culture, and two, he is a flip-flopper. so romney has to continue in the next three debates to bring attention to issues like the economy, and back to the president, himself, and he did do that in the primaries. so he is able to do that. he did that with newt gingrich when gingrich launched these kinds of attacks. >> the lore of the first

televised debate in 1960 is the john f. kennedy one looking tan and confident while richard nixon who refused to wear makeup looked pale and sickly. has history exaggerated the effect of television on the outcome of that election? >> for sure. all of the studies since then showed that while a few people said that kennedy looked great and nixon didn't look great, it is not clear that is really why the debates mattered. i think that people took a much bigger judgment and came to the conclusion about nixon and kennedy. sometimes we exaggerate that, but there are those moments when looks matter, and whether it is someone being good looking like kennedy or in 2000 someone sighing all of the time like al gore, and those can make an impression. >> we have heard throughout the broadcast that president obama hasn't debated in a number of years and he might be rusty. mitt romney, of course sh, he h what seemed like 163 primary debates. is the president going to be rusty, you think? >> i don't think so.

i think that he is very polished on the campaign trail. he has been pretty good other than the convention speech which i don't believe is one of the best, and he is going to be ready. he realizes because of the closeness of the race, he can't have a lackluster performance. so i think that he can repeat what he did in 2008 both the hillary clinton and later. >> thank you so much for your time, sir. >> thank you. coming up, a rust belt school is demanding success for all. we will show you how educators have made their school the highest rated in ohio. plus, michele bachmann, and thought she could be president and why now she is worried about keeping her congressional seat. this guy, that guy told police, that guy right there told police that he jum ped in a tiger den because he wanted to be one with the big cat. more details of this bizarre incident.

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or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? in case you haven't heard the networks of nbc and universal are at the center of sedgeication nation this week. recently i had a chance to visit a school in ohio where the expectations are the same for everyone. >> reporter: at wells academy in stew bensville, ohio, children seem to learn to enjoy learning. really enjoy it. how would you describe yur school to a stranger? >> amazing. >> amazing? >> you can learn a lot. >> reporter: your elementary school is considered by many to be the best in ohio. >> well, we were rated the highest in ohio this past school year. >> reporter: surprising perhaps since disappearing steel jobs left high unemployment and a

corroding rust belt time. at wells, 60% of the students live in poverty. >> one thinks that kids from poorer families can't achieve and they won't achieve. our philosophy is that the kids walk into the door, and they are all equal. no excuses on our part. >> reporter: it is part philosophy and part approach. since 2000, school officials have used a rigorous curriculum program called "success for all." there is an intense focus on reading and math. every school day starts with 90 minutes of uninterrupted readin reading. >> after you read, your partner reads, too, and you have to ask and retell what they read so that you can like ask them questions. >> and then it is on to 75 minutes of math. >> the kids can compute and problem, they will be good in sciences and so forth. >> let's go over number one again. >> reporter: there is a different teaching style here.

>>s wiere used to the teacher talk, and they had to step back from being in control 100% of the day and constantly talking to let the students have time to talk. >> it is kids helping me out, regular kids. >> this is everyday? >> everyday. >> when they struggle and i understand the question, i explain it to them. >> at night parents are asked to sign homework proving they have participated. >> the homework was like, wait a minute, i have to look this up myself. >> reporter: success for all is not a fad and been in school since 1987, and today, there are roughly 1,000 schools in 47 states including roosevelt elementary here in dalton, illinois, that use the program. wells academy started in 2000 and soon after their state reading and math scores among the fourth graders consistently reached 100%. today, all but a handful of the 320 students read at or above grade level.

despite thors and banners there are critics, because some complain it is too rigid and restrictive and the daily lesson plans are scripted. it is a regimented in the sense that no one is shooting from their hip if that is what we want to call regimented. then that is what i want. >> reporter: success for all does call for regular testing so teachers know precisely where they are, because at wells, struggling students get individualt attention and tutors and extra time on tasks and that is how they are changing the equation and making the grade at well withes academy. for the next few days, nbc's year-round initiative education nation is centered right here in new york city at the public library where there is a live look right there, and on tuesday, we will sit down with both presidential candidates to get their plans for reforming this country's education system. first though tonight, 6:00 eastern, msnbc's alex wagnor

will host a special panel event about the role of parents and teachers, using the new drama "won't back down" as a backdrop. the parent/teacher association, and parent/teacher association airing right here tonight on msnbc. back to politics, and more speculation about hillary clinton's future from her husband. >> i think that we ought to give her a chance to organize her life and decide what she wants to do. i just don't know. >> oh, come on, bill. will she or won't she run in 2016? we will talk about that. and also, arnold is spilling all of the dirt with his affair with the housekeeper in a memoir, and it is a long memoir, too. and was he in denial about his son? what did he tell maria? you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. bob...

oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners.

i'm craig mel vip and here is a look at the top stories. that man who jumped into the zoo at the bronx zoo will be issued a ticket, because police say he broke ribs and his right ankle and a pelvis after a 17-foot jump from a monorail friday afternoon. he told police it was not a suicide attempt, because he said he wanted to be quote one with the tiger. and what are you going to do after a love child ruins your marriage? well, you write a tell-all book apparently. arnold schwarzenegger's new memoir promises to reveal the story that you don't know about his affair with the housekeeper. and it is more than 600-some-odd pages and in an excerpt obtained by the "daily news" he writes, instead of doing the right thing i put the truth in a mental compartment and locked it up where i did not deal with it everyday. that book hits shelves october

1st. now, let's shift to minnesota where congresswoman michele bachmann has amassed quite a treasure chest for the re-election bid for the house seat there. as of july 25th, bachmann has raised and spent nearly $16 million according to the fcc report reports and that is more of any member of the house, and second to only john boehner, the speaker who has raised $18 million this election cycle. since her election to congress in 2006, the tea party star has been making an aggressive push for more tea party representation in the house. bachmann is now in a very close race with democrat jim graves, her first significant challenger since running for that seat back in 2006. joining me now to talk about it, in minneapolis, jennifer brooks of the "minnesota star tribune." jennif jennifer, good afternoon to you. >> hi. >> and congresswoman bachmann does not have trouble getting people to write cheshgs but there was an internal poll that

notes that she has a pretty small lead that is well within the margin of error. why is bachmann facing such a strong challenge there in minnesota? >> well, certainly when the year began we never thought that we'd talk about michele bachmann having a competitive race. she was redistricted into a new seat at the beginning of the ye year, but the new sixth district is more conservative than the last one. but, there are a couple of factors that are working against bachmann right now. first of all, she does not even live in the sixth district. she is also coming off of a failed presidential campaign where she mostly ran touting the fact that she is really anti-obama which annoyed many people in minnesota, a nd she i running against an independent wealthy businessman jim graves who is making a serious try of convincing the conservatives that he is a fiscal conservative

and has the jobs to set things right with the e con enemy. >> so he is well funded? >> he is well funded. you know, he has enough money himself to run for congress, and now he is starting to pick up some donations as well. of course, nothing even approaching $16 million. >> and michele bachmann is one of the most famous of the tea party members. is this a sign that the movement, itself, that the tea party movement may be in some trouble? >> she is as strong as she ever was among the social conservatives. the tea partiers love her shoochher. she is a known variable, and from what i know tea partiers love jim grave zs as well, and they love what he says on fiscal issues. >> what about the demographics of the district. how does it look? >> it is a very solidly conservative and a lot of wealthy person, and blue collar

drones and the place where michele bachmann is very much at home. she has been working all summer to get to know the boundaries of the district, but she does not live there, and that could hurt her. >> how far away does she live? >> one district. the redistricting threw her in a head-to-head race with incumbent betty mccullough, and so instead of a bruising fight with a democratic in a more democratic district, she is running next door. >> jennifer brooks from the "minnesota tribute star." thank you so much for your time. thanks. you would expect that the two presidential candidates would hoo lean on your wives in the final weeks of the campaign, but in an article from "mother jones" mitt romney says he won't overuse his wife on the campaign trail. he said we use annb sparingly so

that people won't get tired of her and start attacking. >> and so we are joined by erin mcbride, and heather and jennifer rubin who is a contributor the kudlow report and blogger for the washington post. all lay dison this sunday aft afternoon, by design. jennifer, you wrote in the "washington post" that republicans and mitt romney are fortunate to have ann romney around for many reasons. how important is she to the campaign? >> i think that she is very important. she does humanize him and has infectious enthusiasm and one of the reasons they don't use her is that romney is not being cand candid, because she does have health issues and cannot be stressed and used too much, but when she is, she is successful and when she is with him, he is better as well. and that is almost as important. >> i want to talk about something here that ann romney

said, erin mcpike, and this is her responding to the republican critics of her husband's campaign on a radio show. take a listen. >> stop it. this is hard. you want to try it, get in the ring. in is hard. >> i love that. just stop it. you want to do this, you come in here and try it yourself. will she be able to quiet the dissident in her party? >> unlikely. >> the republican dissident should quiet down if mitt romney wants to have the republicans get in line behind him, but ann romney has shown a tendency to say things like this over time where she does not seem to like the press corps very much, and she has made remarks to that effect throughout the campaign, but, you know, i mean, we'll see. >> amanda, have you been as surprised as a lot of folks that we have heard so much from inside of the campaign and not so much inside of the campaign, but you know, republicans, strategists and all of the folks who have been really playing monday morning quarterback and

they don't wait for monday morning, has that surprised you at all? >> i'm surprised at how quickly it came. i am not surprised when it happened, but when a candidate is down in the polls, you tend to have all of the anonymous advisers and anonymous democrats or republicans coming out to give their two cents, and i'm surprised how quickly it came and not just anonymously, but people like peggy noonan and big kristol saying, what are they doing? they need to get back on track. and at the convention when he was criticized for not being specific enough about the policy proposals and going to libya and the 47% remarks and he has been facing a lot of criticism from members of his own party. and jennifer, talking about ann romney and michelle obama working to get the voters engaged and last night she spoke on that subject specifically, and she addressed the congressional black caucus and take a listen. >> this is the movement of our era, protecting that fundamental right not just for this

election, but for the next generation and generations to come, because in the end, it is not just about who wins or who loses or who we vote for on election day, it is about who we are as americans. >> anna mcpike, you have spent time covering michelle obama, and hands down the most popular obama in the country. >> no question. >> is there a risk of overusing her? a risk of using her too much? >> well, no. because what they are doing is sending michelle obama to a number of college campuses and states like north carolina and virginia and florida, places where president obama is not going because he is having bigger rallies at places like ohio state university at one of the first rallies there this summer, but while people are paying attention to the food fight going on between mitt romney and president obama, michelle obama is out there getting local press where it matters in many of the media

markets in the swing states and getting positive press coverage for the president. they are yuzusing her very effectively. >> and i have asked this question to most, and they either don't answer the question or they lie. but, this idea that four years from now, if he is successful, jennifer rubin, could we see michelle obama pull a hillary clinton, do you think that perhaps she becomes the next first lady to toss her hat in the ring? >> i don't think so. i think that she has developed a he healthy antipathy for the press and the political process to the same degree that ann has perhaps. she is a good asset for him, but it is interesting how she is being used. she is essentially being used to pump up the base, those who showed up in droves the youth, and the campaign is concerned they won't turn out as heavily, and they are worried they won't show up, because they have lost

other members of the 2008 coalitionings so the fact that she is sent out there to talk to the groups is a good way to build the base and make sure they are with them as president obama tries to steer the independent voters and it is a good match for them to approach the problems they have. >> stay around here, because we have a lot of obills to pay here at msnbc, so we will take a quick commercial break and when we come back, we want to talk about wisconsin governor scott walker encouraging mitt romney to get that fire in the belly. >> plus -- >> and she is tired. she has really worked hard. she has done a fabulous job and i'm very proud of her. >> tired now, but could hillary clinton be rested enough by 2016 to run for president? her other half talking about her plans. [ laughing ] [ laughing ]

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